"Cooking as Fast as I Can: A Chef's Story of Family, Food, and Forgiveness"--Remarkably candid, compulsively readable, renowned chef Cat Cora’s no-holds-barred memoir

Cooking as Fast as I Can: A Chef's Story of Family, Food, and Forgiveness

by Cat Cora

Remarkably candid, compulsively readable, renowned chef Cat Cora’s no-holds-barred memoir on Southern life, Greek heritage, same sex marriage, and the meals that have shaped her memories.

Before she became a celebrated chef, Cathy Cora was just a girl from Jackson, Mississippi, where days were slow and every meal was made from scratch. Her passion for the kitchen started in her home, where she spent her days internalizing the dishes that would form the cornerstone of her cooking philosophy incorporating her Greek heritage and Southern upbringing—from crispy fried chicken and honey-drenched biscuits to spanakopita. But outside the kitchen, Cat’s life was volatile.

In Cooking as Fast as I Can, Cat Cora reveals, for the first time, coming-of-age experiences from early childhood sexual abuse to the realities of life as a lesbian in the deep South. She shares how she found her passion in the kitchen and went on to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and apprentice under Michelin star chefs in France. After her big break as a co-host on the Food Network’s Melting Pot, Cat broke barriers by becoming the first-ever female Iron Chef.

Cooking as Fast as I Can chronicles the difficulties and triumphs Cora experienced on the path to becoming a chef. She writes movingly about how she found courage and redemption in the dark truths of her past and about how she found solace in the kitchen and work, how her passion for cooking helped her to overcome hardships and ultimately find happiness at home and became a wife and a mother to four boys. Above all, this is an utterly engrossing story about the grit and grace it takes to achieve your dreams.

Cat Cora

 


Born Catherine Ann Cora.

Both on-and off-screen, Chef Cat Cora has made a lasting impression on the culinary community. In 2005, Cora was the first and only female Iron Chef on Food Network's Iron Chef America. The following year she was named Executive Chef of Bon Apptit along with their Teacher of the Year Award.

In 2008, Cora launched CCQ (Cat Coras Que) at Macys new Signature Kitchen restaurant in Californias South Coast Plaza location. Inspired by her own unique barbeque traditions, CCQ defines her passion for global BBQ. Last year, Cora opened Kouzzina (Greek for kitchen) at Walt Disney Worlds Boardwalk Resort, which offers Mediterranean-style cuisine that pays tribute to her Greek roots. She has also authored two cookbooks.

Outside of the kitchen, Cora is known for her philanthropy. She is President and Founder of Chefs for Humanity, an organization founded in response to the 2004 Tsunami disaster."

http://catcora.com/